Neymar says happiness is key in City of Light
Neymar opened a new chapter in soccer history Friday as the game’s costliest player by fending off questions about his financial motivations as deftly as he repels opponents on the field.
Paris Saint-Germain’s $262 million recruit was sticking to the script at his presentation in the French capital. Leaving the prestige of Barcelona for the less exalted surroundings of PSG was about seizing the chance to raise the status of an ambitious club, rather than about an annual salary reported to be $35.3 million, he said.
“I was never motivated by money,” Neymar said. “What I think about is happiness. If I was following the money I would maybe be in some other country.”
Posters of the forward — accompanied by the words “Welcome to Paris Neymar Jr 10” — were unveiled Friday morning to cheers in central Paris where fans had waited hours to get their hands on jerseys emblazoned with his name.
Host Monaco, the defending French champion, started its title defense with a 3-2 win over Toulouse after twice coming from behind. Kamil Glik scored the winner with 20 minutes left after Monaco’s Jemerson and Radamel Falcao each had tied the game.
ELSEWHERE Colorado assistant will coach Spartans
San Jose State named Jean Prioleau head coach for men’s basketball, athletic director Marie Tuite announced.
“I am grateful to have the opportunity to lead, mentor and push our student-athletes to compete to the best of their ability,” Prioleau said.
Prioleau spent the past seven seasons as an assistant and associate head coach at Colorado. The 47-year-old, who signed a five-year contract, has a physics degree from Fordham and began his coaching career there in 2000 after a playing career overseas.
He has also been an assistant coach at Wichita State, Marquette, Iowa State and TCU.
Prioleau, who will be formally introduced Monday, replaces Dave Wojcik, who resigned last month for personal reasons. Track: Usain Bolt revved up the crowd at London’s Olympic Stadium and then coasted to victory in his first-round heat in the 100 meters in 10.07 seconds at his final world championships.
“The race overall was a poor start,” Bolt said. “I had to push myself a little to get back in the race. But overall, I’m glad I got to push myself, blow the cobwebs out. I’m feeling OK, but it wasn’t a great race.”
The semifinals and final are Saturday. Tennis: Stan Wawrinka, the 2016 U.S. Open champion, will not defend his title, pulling out of the tournament because of an injured knee. Wawrinka said he decided to undergo a “medical intervention” and sit out the rest of 2017.
Top-seeded Simona Halep retired from her quarterfinal match at the Citi Open in Washington because of the heat, allowing Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova to advance to the semifinals. On the men’s side, No. 8 seed Jack Sock defeated thirdseeded Milos Raonic 7-5, 6-4 to reach the semifinals. WNBA: Candace Parker scored 24 points as the host Los Angeles Sparks cruised by the New York Liberty 87-74 . ... Skylar DigginsSmith had 23 points and seven assists, and the host Dallas Wings tied a WNBA record with 16 threepointers to beat the Seattle Storm 93-80 . ... Isabelle Harrison scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Kelsey Plum had 12 assists, and the San Antonio Stars beat the visiting Washington Mystics 76-74 . ... Jonquel Jones had 19 points and 15 rebounds and the host Connecticut Sun beat the Phoenix Mercury 93-92 . ... Courtney Vandersloot had 18 points and 10 assists for her third straight double-double and the visiting Chicago Sky beat the Indiana Fever 81-70.